Thu 14 September 2023:
The INDIA alliance will boycott 14 news anchors for their “communal coverage” and deflection from issues of public interest.
According to local media, that representatives of the INDIA alliance will not appear on the shows of these anchors: Aman Chopra, Amish Devgan and Anand Narasimhan of News18, Aditi Tyagi of Bharat Express, Ashok Shrivastav of DD News, Sudhir Chaudhary and Chitra Tripathi of Aaj Tak, Rubika Liyaquat of Bharat24, Gaurav Sawant and Shiv Aroor of India Today, Prachi Parashar of India TV, Navika Kumar and Sushant Sinha of Times Now Navbharat, and Arnab Goswami of Republic Bharat.
The decision to boycott was taken after the alliance’s first coordination committee meeting on September 13, attended by 12 parties. A member of the media committee confirmed that the channels will be boycotted due to their “communal debates” and on the basis of “how distant their reportage is from the issues of public interest”.
Speaking about the decision, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, who released the list, said, “Today, we took a decision. Some anchors have been marked and their shows and events will be boycotted. We do not want to legitimise this hate-filled narrative which is corroding our society.”
“You make headlines against our leaders, make memes, twist their speeches, spread fake news but we are ready to fight against that. But if you spread hatred in the society which takes the form of violence, we don’t want to be a part of that,” he added.
He further said, “With a heavy heart, we have taken this decision. We are not opposed to any of these anchors. We don’t hate any of these anchors. But, we love our country more. We love our Bharat.”
But is the boycott permanent?
The boycotted channels will be “observed over the next few months” and the ban will be withdrawn “if there is improvement”, the committee member told Newslaundry. “In case of no improvement, measures like ban on advertisements for these channels can also be adopted.”
Many Indian viewers say they have become wary of TV news these days, as dissemination of facts and information is replaced by propaganda peddled with an in-your-face bluster, and divisive debates that tend to eschew nuance and insight for sound and fury and theatrics.
India found itself at its lowest rank ever – 150 out of 180 countries – in this year’s World Press Freedom Index, released by Paris-based media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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